Fact or Fiction: Was Dave Fipp at Fault for Second Quarter Blunder?

Lions coordinator takes responsibility for costly error before half.

Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp. / Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Detroit Lions committed a critical error at the conclusion of the second quarter in their Week 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

With the special teams unit sprinting onto the field as the offense was looking to spike the ball in the waning seconds of the first half, the Lions ultimately left the field without points in a juncture that would come back to haunt them.

Though head coach Dan Campbell took the blame on himself, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp also owned his role in the mistake. Fipp did not offer specifics as to what went into the miscommunication.

Special teams units typically receive little attention until mistakes are made, and Sunday was a prime example.

“Yeah, I would say ultimately I don’t want to comment a ton on it. I know (Campbell) hit it a little bit," Fipp said. "There’s a lot that goes into those situations. Like I said to the players, those things are not a big deal until they’re a huge deal. All these situational plays like that. It’s the same thing (as) a long field goal, they put a returner back deep, you’ve got to cover it. It’s not a big deal until all of a sudden you’ve got to cover that kick and that guy makes a play."

The situation the Lions faced at that point in the game is one they often practiced during training camp. However, with the stakes upped at that situation in the game, Detroit squandered an opportunity to get points before the break.

As a result of the mistake, the Lions' late-game approach was altered. Trailing by four, whereas a field goal before the half would've put the differential at a single point, meant the offense was tasked with scoring a touchdown.

"Situations like that, there’s a lot that goes into it. They’re all critical, they come at critical moments in the game. That one certainly was for us," Fipp said. "The only thing I would say is any time I’m a part of something, I definitely feel responsibility for not getting the job done. So I take a lot of responsibility for that also. I know for a fact there’s a lot of things that I could’ve done different and would do different if I could do it again today. So I feel like I need to take my share of the ownership and responsibility also.” 

The end result of the mistake was likely a miscommunication between the coaching staff, as the field goal team was rushed out with the offense not aware.